Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 1985)

Before i start my review, let me give you some background info, this game started the video game revolution. Yea there were video games before this, Atari, and even Nintendo, but this game (and also The Legend of Zelda, to a lesser extent), launched gaming into the stratosphere. Nintendo was really just an experiment in the early to mid 80's, barely getting much interest. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of this and Legend of Zelda, created gameplay, music, and a sense of wonder with this game that was unparalleled and this game still stands the test of time today. (well maybe he didn't create the music, but you get the idea) Nintendo, before 1985, made arcade and pocket games, this was the first MAJOR home game system.

Games like this (8-bit) are not made any more today. Yes, we have better graphics, more complicated controls, more cutscenes, but not the same sense of tight, amazing gameplay. Today's games not only cannot compare in many ways to the simpler gameplay that Nintendo exhibited in the late 1980's, but quite simply would not have existed, as video games in the late 70's/early 80's were in a huge slump and their existence was threatened.

As for Super Mario Bros. itself, You have a set number of lives at the start, can collect more lives in several ways... you generally have rather few lives in order to complete the game. You can warp, collect power-ups such as fireballs and become large.

The control is SUPER-RESPONSIVE and works amazingly well. You can speed up while holding B I believe. Yes, Mario/Luigi's running can be kinda loose, where it is hard to gauge how far you jump, but overall, you feel such a sense of speed and freedom while playing.

The music is very well done, during the castle levels where you fight Bowser, 8 in the game i believe, the music creates a sense of doom and danger. While above ground, the music tends to be more mellow, but great music that really fits the game.

The difficulty is rather high FOR ME, anyway, because once you run out of lives, you have to start from level 1-1 ALL OVER AGAIN. I have beaten "Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels" probably about 4 times but have yet to beat this game. (You can save after every level in "lost levels"

The replay value is high simply because of how fun the game is, you never really get tired of it. I even prefer this game to SMB3 which is considered arguably the best 2-D platformer of all time.

To sum up, play this game, if you are one of the few gamers on the planet who have yet to experience it, it put home video games, and video gaming in general, on the map. This game never gets old.

A very good game for fans; however, if you’re new you may want to start with a newer title.

-The Good
-Useful Power-Ups
-Colorful Levels
-Take-Turn Multiplayer
-The Bad
-Blocky Graphics
-Short Jump Time
-The Summary
-King Koopa has kidnapped Princess Peach! You, Mario, must save her! Using many power-ups, such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, must find Princess Peach and defeat the evil King Koopa! Play through many colorful stages including castles and field.
It can be tough saving the kingdom all on your own. How about you get some help? In Two Player Mode, you can play as Mario while a friend plays as Luigi!
This game is now available on the Virtual Console for the Wii.

-thepokeson

(a review from steve12852's son) This game has been one of the biggest games that I have played in my childhood. When my son was first introduced, I loved the game, and when I lost my copy I wanted so badly to get a new one. Now that I have, I can relive the hours spent trying to colplete all of the game's 8 worlds. The premise is simple: You, Mario/Luigi, must rescue Princess Toadstool(Princess Peach), ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom (the game's setting) from the clutches of the evil King Koopa (Bowser). You will travel to 8 different worlds, each world having 4 levels and a castle as the last level of each world. There are two levels taking place entirely underground and two underwater levels, with underground and sea areas in other levels as well. All in all, this game is what ended the video game crash and it is well-deserving of the title of being the second-best-selling video game of all time (the first being WiiSports for the Nintendo Wii). This is a game I never get tired of playing and there are so many people who know the game's overworld theme. This is an opportunity you don't want to pass up if you have a console for NES games!

I've been playing video games for nearly 20 years and this game is still one of the best.

This game was the first game that I ever played. This game was the first game that I beat. This game is the game that I've won the most times, and when I started this game was the game that beat me the most times.

From the first level to the last this game will keep you entertained.

You are Mario (and if you are playing a 2-player game also Luigi) and you must make it through 8 worlds (each world has 4 stages) fighting goomba, turtles, bullets, fish, squids, bottomless pits, moving platforms, man-eating plants, hammer bros, and of course KOOPA all to save the Princess.

In the first 7 worlds you save Toad (the mushroom guy) and then finally after level 8-4 you finally get to the Princess.

After you beat the game you can play through again, this time on a much harder level ..... the goombas have been replaced with "fire-proof goombas"

If you have never played Super Mario Bros. you have really missed out and if you haven't played this game in quite awhile, then please go down memory road one more time.

Who doesn't know Mario ? This games is the foundation of the Mario franchise. After a short appearance in the Donkey Kong games, Mario got his own game. Together with his brother Luigi, he has to save the Princess from the evil Bowser. The game is a scrolling platform game and contains 8 worlds and each world has 4 levels. You get to deal with several enemies such as goombas an koopa. You can either stomp them or kill them with a fireball. At the end of every world you have to fight "King Koopa" (who, until the final level, is actually a lesser enemy disguised as King Koopa). At the end of each world save the last, Mario is greeted with the words, "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" Do I hate those words !!!

Overall a very good game. I gave it a 4 because it's successor Super Mario Bros 3 has raised the standard for NES games in means of graphics. And Super Mario Bros hasn't got the great graphics of Super Mario Bros 3. But they both have great gameplay ! Still a must have in any NES collection or just for a drive down memory lane.